EUDORA SPAM FILTER 03
The Passlist (or Whitelist) - Your "Friends & Family" List
 

The passlist is a nickname you make in the Eudora Address Book containing all email addresses of people that you know and might exchange email with. This is the single most important filter for fighting spam. Any email that's grabbed by this filter is from someone you know and want to keep. It goes straight to your inbox with no further filtering. Any email NOT caught by this filter (or the next several in-filters if used) fails the test, and is from someone you don't know - possibly spam.

Basically, the  passlist is your "friends and family" list.  If someone knocks on the door of your house, you ask them "who is it?", and you let them in or not based on their answer - either you know them, or you don't. People you don't know must answer more questions before you let them in. Email can be handled the same way. Anyone on your passlist may send you email that violates any or all of the filter rules that occur lower in the filter list, and their email will still make it to your inbox. This is because the filter Action "Skip Rest" (as seen in the image below) prevents any further filtering, and by default the email goes straight to the inbox. This filter must be placed at or near the top of the list of filters, before the group of spam filters.

 

Match:	Incoming and Manual
Header	From:
Verb:	intersects nickname
Value:	PASSLIST*
(*make this the nickname you created in Eudora's Address Book)
Actions:	Skip Rest  (stop filtering this message and go straight to the inbox)

Alternatively you can add a second nickname filter as shown in the image above, "PASSLIST_AUX" - I use this nickname for preserving old email addresses (for my filter testing) and for random emailers that I may or may not hear from again.

TO MAKE THE PASSLIST NICKNAME:

1. Open Eudora's Address Book (Tools, Address book)
2. Click on the first nickname entry to highlite it
3. Holding down the <Shift> key, now click on the last entry. All your current nicknames should be highlited as shown below.
4. Now hit <Control K> This brings up the "Make Address Book Entry" window, prefilled with all of your existing nicknames. Enter the name you wish to use for your whitelist - I call mine "passlist". Click OK and you're done.
    

Image of the Eudora Address Book and the Make Address Book Entry Window

NOTE - It's likely that sooner than later you will find an email in your spam box from someone that should go to your inbox. When that happens, either create a nickname for them and then add that nickname to the passlist, or else simply cut and paste their email address into your passlist, and they're in.

Adding a new Nickname or Email to the Passlist